PMC-Sierra Announces Availability of the EXACT Bus Chip Set for Layer 2 and Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet Switching Solutions

Business Wire, Feb 10, 1998

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 1998--

ELAN-EAGLE, ELAN-FELIX and ELAN-ENCORE chips provide customizable

intelligent switching for high density desktop, workgroup and

backbone applications

PMC-Sierra today announced at the Gigabit Ethernet Conference, the device types and scheduled availability for the ELAN-EXACT Gigabit Ethernet switching chip set. The chip set provides a unique combination of low cost, flexibility and scalability that facilitates stackable and modular switch applications over a wide range of bit rates, port counts or port configurations.

The chip set uses PMC-Sierra's on-chip SmartPath embedded RISC core and the EXACT Bus to provide intelligent Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching at gigabit rates. Up to 32 gigabits per second of aggregate bandwidth is provided using the PM3370 ELAN-EAGLE and PM3380 ELAN-FELIX intelligent port controllers and the PM3390 ELAN-ENCORE switch matrix controller.

The ELAN-EXACT chip set provides non-blocking, wire speed, low-latency store and forward switching for up to 128 ports of 10/100 or 16 ports of Gigabit Ethernet. The chip set also supports a mode that allows bypassing of the Media Access Controllers (MACs). This allows the attachment of SONET, T3 or T1 Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) devices, or external packet processors and ASICs for value-added functions.

The ELAN-EXACT chip set consists of three devices: the 'EAGLE' chip which contains a single Gigabit Ethernet port controller, the 'FELIX' chip which contains eight 10/100 Megabit Ethernet port controllers and the 'ENCORE' switch matrix controller chip which provides a switching backplane capable of an aggregate bandwidth of 16 to 32 gigabits per second.

"Many of the unique capabilities of the ELAN-EXACT chip set are inherent in the customizable intelligence of the SmartPath embedded RISC core, the flexibility of the EXACT Bus and our ability to configure hardware to provide value-added functions for OEM's," said Vernon Little, director of marketing for PMC-Sierra's Ethernet products division.

"For example, many OEM's want to provide proprietary features such as extended VLAN operation, specific policy-based priority, or extensive security operation. Our architecture allows this to be achieved with a combination of the internal SmartPath RISC core, external microprocessors or external ASICs inserted directly in the datapath."

Samples of the ELAN-EXACT chipset are scheduled for the second quarter of 1998. All three devices are provided in 352 pin ball-grid array (BGA) packages. Pricing for the PM3370 ELAN-EAGLE and PM3380 ELAN-FELIX port controllers will be $159 in quantities of 1000 units, while the PM3390 ELAN-ENCORE switch matrix controller will be $129 at similar quantities.

PMC-Sierra is a leading provider of high speed internetworking component solutions emphasizing ATM, SONET/SDH, T1/E1 and Ethernet applications. The company's quality system is registered with the Quality Management Institute to the ISO 9001 standard. As co-founder of the SATURN Development Group, PMC-Sierra works with over 30 other member companies to define and develop interoperable, standard-compliant solutions for high speed networking applications.

Headquartered near Vancouver, British Columbia, PMC-Sierra also offers local technical and sales support in California, North Carolina, Ontario, Massachusetts, Texas, Europe and Asia. In Beaverton, Oregon, the company has established an Ethernet products division focused on developing leading edge Ethernet semiconductor solutions. PMC-Sierra is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.pmc-sierra.com.

CONTACT: PMC-Sierra

Susan Shaw, 1 604/415-6031

sshaw@pmc-sierra.com

or

Strategic Press Relations (Editorial Contact)

Dan Garza, 1 408/733-4669

or

Publicity Management (European Contact)

Leslie Franks, 44 1488 683936